Hair implantation device

ABSTRACT

A system for transplanting hair grafts from a donor region of a patient&#39;s scalp to a recipient region of the patient&#39;s scalp. The system includes harvesting N (N≧21) strips of skin containing living hair follicles from the donor region of the patient&#39;s scalp, the N strips of skin being harvested simultaneously, and cutting the N strips of skin into hair grafts, the N strips of skin being cut simultaneously. The system also includes loading the hair grafts sequentially, bottom down, into a removable cartridge connected to an instrument for implanting the hair grafts into the recipient region of the patient&#39;s scalp, the hair grafts being loaded so as to create an air seal between the hair grafts and the cartridge, and implanting the hair grafts. The implanting includes implanting the hair grafts into the recipient region of the patient&#39;s scalp, one at a time, using the instrument, by (1) feeding a hair graft to a predetermined feed position in the instrument via air suction created by an air seal between the hair graft and the cartridge, (2) making an incision at a point in the recipient region of the patient&#39;s scalp at which the hair graft is to be implanted using a cutting device on the instrument, and (3) sliding the hair graft into the incision using an implanting member in the instrument.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/630,244, filed Apr. 10, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,851.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hair transplantation system in whicha multi-bladed knife harvests strips of skin containing living hairfollicles from a donor region of a patient's scalp, a cutting devicecuts the strips of skin into very small hair follicle grafts, acartridge stores the grafts, and an instrument implants grafts fed fromthe cartridge into a recipient region of the patient's scalp.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is generally known, hair transplantation procedures involve removinghair grafts from a region of a patient's scalp which containspermanently-growing hair, and implanting those hair grafts into abalding region of the patient's scalp.

Traditional hair transplantation procedures, however, often producedundesirable results. For example, as described in Applicant's co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/444,923, entitled "Hair ImplantationDevice", the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference intothe subject application, traditional hair transplants often produce a"corn row" appearance. Such an effect generally results fromtransplanting large hair grafts, of roughly 5 to 25 hairs each, as iscommonly done in traditional hair transplantation procedures.

New concepts of hair transplantation are based upon the observationthat, in general, hair does not grow singly, but emerges from the scalpin small anatomic units called follicular units. Recently, a hairtransplantation procedure called follicular transplantation has beendeveloped which takes advantage of these natural hair groupings. Thisprocedure produces results that are virtually undetectable. That is, itis difficult to distinguish hair grown from a follicular transplant fromone's own non-transplanted hair.

In a typical follicular transplant, grafts of 1 to 4 hair follicles pergraft, i.e., one follicular unit, are harvested from a donor region of apatient's scalp which contains permanently growing hair. In men, thisregion, known as the Hippocratic wreath, includes the back and sides ofthe scalp. Thereafter, the harvested grafts are implanted in baldingareas of the patient's scalp. Because very small hair grafts aretransplanted in their natural groupings, follicular transplants canproduce a head of hair which appears to be to totally natural to thenaked eye.

However, because follicular transplant procedures use such small hairgrafts, the time it takes to perform such procedures is greatlyincreased over that of its traditional counterpart, particularly incases where many grafts (e.g., thousands of grafts) are transplanted. Asa result, conventional follicular transplant procedures often may not becompleted in just one session.

The large megasession, as defined by the present Applicant, is alarge-scale follicular transplant procedure which provides patients witha faster alternative to conventional transplant procedures. In the largemegasession, as many as 12 to 16 people at a time work on a singlepatient. As a result, large numbers of hair grafts, e.g., 3500 or morehair grafts, can be transplanted in a single session. However, even witha large staff, the large megasession can still take over 8 hours.

Using conventional manual techniques, it is not possible to increase thespeed of performing transplant procedures without sacrificing thequality of the result and the safety of both the patient and thoseperforming the procedure.

Thus, there exists a need to lessen the amount of time it takes toperform large-scale follicular hair transplants, such as the largemegasession, without sacrificing safety and quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the foregoing need by providing a systemof transplanting hair from a donor region of a patient's scalp to arecipient region of the patient's scalp. As described below, the system,which includes both a method and apparatuses used to perform the method,increases both the speed and efficiency at which follicular hairtransplants, such as the large megasession, can be performed, withoutsignificantly increasing safety risks or reducing hair transplantquality.

According to one aspect, the present invention is a method oftransplanting hair grafts from a donor region of a patient's scalp to arecipient region of the patient's scalp. The method includes the stepsof simultaneously harvesting N (N≧1) strips of skin containing livinghair follicles from the donor region of the patient's scalp, andsimultaneously cutting the N strips of skin into hair grafts. Alsoincluded in the method are steps of loading the hair graftssequentially, bottom down, i.e., subcutaneous layer down, into aremovable cartridge connected to an instrument for implanting the hairgrafts into the recipient region of the patient's scalp, the hair graftsbeing loaded so as to create an air seal between the hair grafts and thecartridge, and implanting the hair grafts. The implanting step includesimplanting the hair grafts into the recipient region of the patient'sscalp, one at a time, using the instrument, by (1) feeding a hair graftto a predetermined feed position in the instrument via air suctioncreated by an air seal between the hair graft and the cartridge, (2)making an incision at a point in the recipient region of the patient'sscalp at which the hair graft is to be implanted using a cutting device,such as a blade or a knife, on the instrument, and (3) sliding the hairgraft into the incision using an implanting member in the instrument.

The foregoing method has several advantages. For example, bysimultaneously harvesting and simultaneously cutting the plural skinstrips, the foregoing method makes it possible to reduce hair graftpreparation time. As a result, the foregoing hair transplantation methodis less time consuming than its conventional counterparts.

In addition, by feeding hair grafts from a cartridge which can beremoved and replaced, rather than directly into the instrument itself,the foregoing method decreases both the number of operators needed toload the hair grafts and the time it takes to re-supply hair grafts tothe instrument. As a result, both the amount of labor required toperform the hair transplant and overall hair transplantation time arefurther reduced.

Still further, by using air suction to feed the hair grafts from thecartridge to the instrument, the foregoing method reduces the amount ofphysical manipulation of the hair grafts during hair graft implantation.As a result, the method reduces the chances that implanted hair graftswill be damaged from manipulation and drying, or contaminated byexcessive physical manipulation and/or contact.

According to another aspect, the present invention is a surgical knifewhich is used in a hair transplantation method to harvest strips of skincontaining living hair follicles from a patient's scalp. The surgicalknife includes a slotted socket containing plural sockets disposed apartfrom each other by a predetermined distance, and plural blades. Theplural blades are disposed in parallel and at a predetermined angle.Each of the plural blades has a cutting edge and is disposed in one ofthe plural sockets on the slotted socket. Also included in the surgicalknife are N (N≧1) stops, attached to the slotted socket, each having athickness greater than that of each of the plural blades, and having adull edge. The N stops are set back from the cutting edges of the pluralblades to prevent the plural blades from cutting into the patient'sscalp to greater than a predetermined depth.

Because the foregoing stops prevent the plural blades from cutting intothe patient's scalp to greater than a predetermined depth,transplantation errors resulting from improperly-cut strips of skin canbe reduced. Along the same lines, injuries to the patient caused byoverly-deep incisions can also be reduced.

In preferred embodiments of the surgical knife, the stops comprise asingle retainer which slidably fits over the slotted socket, and whichholds the plural blades in the slotted socket. In such embodiments, theretainer is manually settable so as to permit a surgeon to control adepth to which the plural blades cut. By virtue of this feature, thesurgeon can accurately cut strips of skin from patients having differentscalp thicknesses.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is a cuttingdevice for cutting a strip of skin containing living hair follicleswhich have been harvested from a patient's scalp into hair grafts. Thecutting device includes plural blades arranged to be substantiallyparallel, onto which the strip of skin is placeable. The strip of skinis placeable on the plural blades such that hairs growing from the stripof skin are substantially parallel to the plural blades. Also includedin the cutting device are a cutting surface, onto which the pluralblades are clamped, and a plate, which is fixed to the cutting surfaceand which is movable to contact the plural blades upon application of aforce. The plate has sufficient mobility to contact the plural bladeswith enough force to cause the plural blades to cut the strip of skininto the hair grafts. A rake having plural prongs fits between theplural blades.

Because the foregoing cutting device includes plural blades, onto whichone or more strip(s) of skin can be placed, the cutting device is ableto produce a large number of hair grafts at a single time. As a result,the cutting device is able to increase the speed at which a hairtransplantation procedure is performed. In addition, because the pluralblades are arranged to be substantially parallel, the foregoing cuttingdevice increases the uniformity of hair grafts cut thereby.

In preferred embodiments of the cutting device, the plural prongs on therake comprise plural hooks which grab onto a strip of hair. In suchembodiments, a second strip of skin is placeable on the blades, topdown, i.e., skin exterior down, such that hairs growing from the secondstrip of skin extend downward between the plural blades and aresubstantially parallel to the plural blades. Each of the hooks on therake grabs onto the second strip of skin so that the rake can be used topull the second strip of skin through the blades.

By pulling the strip of skin through the blades, the second strip ofskin can be cut into plural narrow strips of skin. This means of cuttingplural narrow strips of skin from a single strip of skin reducesinjuries to hair follicles caused by conventional, pressure-dependent,cutting mechanisms.

In still other preferred embodiments, each of the plural prongs on therake fits between two of the plural blades in order to facilitateremoval of cut hair grafts from between the plural blades. In suchembodiments, preferably, the rake is located beneath the plural bladesand is drawn up through the plural blades, thereby lifting out any cuthair grafts from between the plural blades.

According to still another aspect, the present invention is a cartridgefor storing plural hair grafts which have been harvested from apatient's scalp, each of the plural hair grafts containing N (N≧1) hairfollicles. The cartridge includes a tubular body having a continuousthroughbore, the continuous throughbore having a cross-sectional areasufficient to accommodate a single hair graft, and a neck, connected tothe tubular body, through which each of the plural hair grafts issequentially loaded, bottom down, into the tubular body. A slot runsalong the neck, for permitting contact with a hair graft in the neck byan external instrument. The external instrument slides the hair graftalong the slot to load the hair graft into the cartridge.

In the foregoing cartridge, preferably, the neck has a funnel shape suchthat a top portion of the neck has a greater radius than a bottomportion the neck which connects to the tubular body.

The foregoing cartridge facilitates storage, handling and maintenance ofhair grafts. More specifically, because the hair grafts are fed into thetubular body via a funnel-shaped neck having a greater radius at a topportion than at a bottom portion which connects to the tubular body,injuries to the hair grafts during loading are reduced. That is, bygradually deforming the hair grafts to fit into the tubular body usingthe funnel-shaped neck, the foregoing cartridge reduces injuries to thehair grafts, such as edge tears, which can be caused by attempting toforce large grafts into narrow storage areas.

In preferred embodiments of the cartridge, the continuous throughborehas a cross-sectional area which is less than a cross-sectional area ofeach hair graft loaded into the cartridge. As a result, an air seal iscreated between each hair graft and the tubular body of the cartridge.This air seal creates a suction when a hair graft is fed out from thecartridge, which pulls the next-sequential hair graft from thecartridge. Thus, the foregoing cartridge reduces physical contact to thehair grafts during feeding of the hair grafts to the instrument.

Still further preferred embodiments of the invention include apressurizing mechanism, attached to a top of the cartridge, forpressurizing hair grafts within the cartridge. Pressure applied from thepressurizing mechanism aids movement of the hair grafts down the tubularbody of the cartridge, and reduces the chances that hair grafts will getstuck in the cartridge during feeding.

According to still another aspect, the present invention is aninstrument for implanting hair grafts into a patient's scalp, which,through action of air suction in an air-sealed cartridge containing thehair grafts, are fed, bottom down, to an implantation-ready position asa preceding hair graft is implanted. The instrument includes an elongatehousing adapted to be manipulated by a surgeon during implantation ofthe hair grafts, and a cutting device, such as a blade or a knife,affixed to an end of the elongate housing for making an incision intothe patient's scalp, into which a hair graft is to be implanted. Alsoincluded in the instrument is a feeding tube which connects theinstrument to the cartridge, which stores the hair grafts, and whichfeeds a hair graft from the cartridge to a predetermined feed position.The feeding tube includes a vent positioned at the predetermined feedposition, such that when the hair graft is moved to the predeterminedfeed position, air from the vent breaks an air seal between the hairgraft and a next-sequential hair graft in the cartridge. An implantingmember (1) moves downward through the elongate housing, (2) contacts thehair graft at the predetermined feed position, and (3) slides the hairgraft into the incision made in the patient's scalp by the cuttingdevice through an opening formed between the cutting device and theelongate housing. A plunger, disposed within the elongate housing,actuates the implanting member.

By virtue of the foregoing configuration, the instrument is able to feedhair grafts from a connected cartridge by means of air suction. As aresult, the amount of physical contact to each hair graft duringimplantation is reduced, thereby reducing both the chances of injuriesto, and contamination of, the hair grafts.

Preferred embodiments of the instrument also include a holding member.In these embodiments, the holding member (1) moves downward through theelongate housing in a substantially same direction as the implantingmember, (2) contacts the hair graft contacted by the implanting member,and (3) remains in contact with the hair graft during withdrawal of aportion of the instrument from the incision. In addition, the plunger,preferably, is also used to actuate the holding member.

Advantageously, the foregoing holding member, by remaining in contactwith an implanted hair graft during withdrawal of the portion of theinstrument, reduces the chances that the implanted hair graft will bedislodged during withdrawal of the portion of the instrument.

Preferably, the implanting member and the holding member moveindependently, such that the holding member remains in contact with animplanted hair graft while the implanting member is being withdrawn fromthe incision. This feature reduces the chances that a newly-implantedhair graft will be dislodged during withdrawal of the implanting member.In such embodiments, a latch or the like can be used to triggerwithdrawal of the implanting member from the incision, whereas theholding member is withdrawn from the incision when pressure is removedfrom the plunger.

In embodiments of the instrument that do not include a holding member,the foregoing function can be achieved by withdrawing the implantingmember while a portion of the instrument remains in the incision to holdan implanted hair graft in place.

In further preferred embodiments of the foregoing instrument, theholding member extends outside of the elongate housing when holding ahair graft in an incision. In such embodiments, the holding memberincludes an expandable tip at an area which contacts the hair graft,which expands when the holding member is outside of the elongatehousing. Preferably, the expandable tip is made of a sponge-typematerial, and has a size which is sufficient to permit the expandabletip to surround the implanting member while the implanting member isbeing withdrawn from the incision.

By virtue of the expandable tip, the foregoing instrument is able toreduce injuries to implanted hair grafts caused during withdrawal of theimplanting member, and caused by excessive pressure applied to theholding member.

In still further preferred embodiments of the foregoing instrument, thecutting device, e.g., the blade or knife, has a substantially smoothplanar surface so as to reduce injuries to hair grafts duringimplantation which result from friction between the hair grafts and theplanar surface, or from protrusions found on the planar surface.

In still further preferred embodiments, a stop, such as a mechanicalresistor or the like, is placed at the predetermined feed position, soas to reduce the chances that a hair graft will be fed or ejected fromthe feeding tube prematurely.

This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of the inventionmay be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of theinvention can be obtained by reference to the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments thereof in connection with theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing a hair transplantation procedure of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows a profile view of a patient undergoing the hairtransplantation procedure of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show perspective views of a surgical knife of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C show perspective views of a surgical knife of thepresent invention having a single retainer stop.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C show the surgical knife of the present inventionbeing used to cut strips of skin.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G and 6H show views of embodiments thecutting device of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a first embodiment of a rake included in thecutting device of the present invention being used to pull a wide stripof skin through plural blades.

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C show close-up views of the cutting device of thepresent invention being used to cut a single wide strip of skin intoplural narrow strips of skin.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C show close-up views of the cutting device of thepresent invention being used to cut a narrow strip of skin into hairgrafts.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show views of a cartridge for storing hair graftsaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a view of an instrument for implanting hair graftsaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C show close-up views of the instrument of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 shows a close-up view of a gradually-narrowing feeding tube usedin the instrument of FIG. 11.

FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C show the instrument of FIG. 11 during use atvarious stages of the hair transplantation procedure of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram showing a procedure for implanting hair graftsusing the instrument of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a system for transplanting hair grafts from adonor region of a patient's scalp to a recipient region of the patient'sscalp. The system of the present invention includes simultaneouslyharvesting N (N≧1) strips of skin containing living hair follicles fromthe donor region of the patient's scalp, and simultaneously cutting theN strips of skin into hair grafts. Also included in the system are stepsof loading the hair grafts sequentially, subcutaneous layer-down, i.e.,bottom down, into a removable cartridge connected to an instrument forimplanting the hair grafts into the recipient region of the patient'sscalp, the hair grafts being loaded so as to create an air seal betweenthe hair grafts and the cartridge, and implanting the hair grafts. Theimplanting step includes implanting the hair grafts into the recipientregion of the patient's scalp, one at a time, using the instrument, by(1) feeding a hair graft to a predetermined feed position in theinstrument via air suction created by an air seal between the hair graftand the cartridge, (2) making an incision at a point in the recipientregion of the patient's scalp at which the hair graft is to be implantedusing a cutting device on the instrument, and (3) sliding the hair graftinto the incision using an implanting member in the instrument.

The foregoing system is depicted as process steps in FIG. 1. Asdescribed in more detail below, each of these process steps is performedusing a different device. Accordingly, the following provides adescription of both the process steps shown in FIG. 1, and of thedevices used to perform those process steps.

In step S101, one or more strip(s) of skin containing living hairfollicles are harvested from a donor region of the patient's scalp. Thedonor region comprises a region of the patient's scalp which containspermanently growing hair. As shown in FIG. 2, donor region 1 for a mantypically comprises the Hippocratic wreath.

In step S101, either one or more wide strips of skin is harvested, orplural narrow strips of skin are harvested. Typically, the narrow stripsof skin have widths which are approximately equal to the width of asingle hair graft, whereas the wide strips of skin have widths which aregreater than that of a single hair graft. Harvesting of wide strips ofskin from the patient's head is done using conventional surgicaltechniques. Accordingly, a detailed description of this process isomitted for the sake of brevity.

Harvesting of plural narrow strips of skin from the patient's head isdone using the surgical knife of the present invention described below.

Surgical Knife

A first representative embodiment of the surgical knife of the inventionis shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and a second representative embodiment ofthe surgical knife of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C.Each of these embodiments includes a slotted socket containing pluralslots disposed apart from each other by a predetermined distance, andplural blades, each having a cutting edge, and each being disposed inone of the plural slots on the slotted socket. The plural blades aredisposed in parallel and at a predetermined angle. N (N≧1) stops areattached to the slotted socket. Each stop has a thickness greater thanthat of each of the plural blades, and has a dull edge. These stops areset back from the cutting edges of the plural blades to prevent theplural blades from cutting into the patient's scalp to greater than apredetermined depth.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show perspective and face-on views, respectively, ofsurgical knife 2, which is a surgical knife according to the presentinvention. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, surgical knife 2 includesslotted socket 5 containing plural female slots 6, and handle 8 by whicha surgeon manipulates surgical knife 2. Slots 6 are spaced apart fromeach other by a predetermined distance, labelled D in FIGS. 3A and 3B.This predetermined distance is defined by fingers 9, shown in FIG. 3A.To use surgical knife 2 to harvest micrograft-sized strips of skin,i.e., strips of skin having a width approximately equal to that of asingle micrograft-sized hair graft, each of fingers 9 should have awidth between 1 and 3 millimeters. However, the width of each of fingers9 can vary, depending upon the size of the grafts to be cut from thestrips of skin.

Surgical knife 2 includes plural blades 12, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B(see also reference numeral 13 in the second embodiment shown in FIGS.4A to 4C). Each of blades 12 fits into a corresponding one of slots 6.It is noted that surgical knife 2 shown in FIG. 3A shows only twoblades. This is done for simplicity of view and for discussion purposesonly. In actuality, surgical knife 2, like surgical knife 3 shown inFIGS. 4A to 4C, includes a blade in each of slots 6, as shown in FIG.3B. In this regard, each slot in slotted socket 5 should have a widthwhich is sufficient to accommodate a base of a blade, and to hold theblade in place even when a force is applied to the blade. Moreover,surgical knife 2 can be fashioned to accommodate any number of blades,as desired by a user.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, blades 12 are substantially parallel andare aligned in slotted socket 5 so as to cut to substantially the samedepth. In addition, each blade in slotted socket 5 is angled around thecutting axis at predetermined angle 15. In preferred embodiments of thesurgical knife, this angle is between 15° and 45°, with the mostpreferred angle being 30°. Such angles reduce damage to subcutaneousfollicles since hair rarely grows perpendicularly from the scalp butrather grows at an inclined angle. By angling the cutting blades aroundthe cutting axis, it is possible to facilitate cutting at the same angleas the hair grows and thereby to minimize damage to follicles.

The foregoing angular arrangement of blades 12 also facilitates cuttingof the strips of skin. That is, since blades 12 tend to cut throughareas of skin which provide the least resistance, hair follicles, whichprovide greater resistance than surrounding skin, will be pushed asideduring cutting by angled blades, such as blades 12.

Attached to slotted socket 5 are one or more stops, such as stops 16,shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and stop 17, shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. Stopstypically have dull edges, which can be squared or rounded. As shown,stops are used in the surgical knife in order to provide cutting depthcontrol. That is, stops 16, for example, are positioned so as to preventblades 12 from cutting to greater than a predetermined depth into apatient's scalp. This predetermined depth is defined by the distance"d", shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, that the blades extend beyond the stops.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4A to 4C show examples of different types of stops.FIGS. 3A and 3B show stops 16, which are formed as integral parts ofslotted socket 5, which are located adjacent to oppositely-positionedblades, and which jut out from slotted socket 5. Stops 16 have a shapesimilar to that of blades 12, but have dull edges so as to preventblades 12 from cutting too deeply into the patient's scalp. Stops ofthis type are preferably also thicker than blades 12, in order to guardagainst penetration of the scalp.

FIGS. 4A to 4C, on the other hand, show stop 17, which also functions asa retainer for blades 13 in slotted socket 21. That is, as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, stop 17 slides overtop both handle 20 and slottedsocket 21 of surgical knife 3 in the direction of arrow 22. In thismanner, stop 17 is both able to prevent blades 13 from cutting toodeeply into a patient's scalp, and to aid in the retention of blades 13in slotted socket 21.

In this regard, stop 17 can also be used to insert and to align blades13 in slotted socket 21. That is, when inserting blades 13 into theslots in slotted socket 21, it helps to push those blades against a flatsurface, such as a table, to attain proper alignment. When blades 13 arepushed too hard, they may dislodge from slotted socket 21. However, insurgical knife 3, as shown in FIG. 4C, when stop 17 is slid forward,blades 13 can be pressed against flat surface 24 at a greater force thanwould otherwise be possible, since stop 17 acts to retain the blades intheir respective slots.

Moreover, because stop 17 slidably fits over slotted socket 21, stop 17can be manually adjusted to accommodate different scalp thicknesses.Thus, if a patient has an unusually thick scalp, a surgeon need merelyslide stop 17 away from the blades in order to provide for a deeper cut,or vice versa, as the case may be. In addition, because stop 17 canslide on and off of slotted socket 21, as shown by arrow 22 of FIG. 4B,damaged or worn blades within slotted socket 21 can be easily replaced.

At this point, it is noted that a single surgical knife according to thepresent invention can include both stops 16 and 17.

In preferred embodiments, slotted sockets 5 and 21 are made from anextrusion plastic mold, thus reducing the amount of time, effort andcost required for manufacture. Thus, these slotted sockets can be easilydisposed of and replaced at little cost. It is noted, however, thatslotted sockets 5 and 21 can also be made from stainless steel or othermetals, as desired.

Preferred dimensions of a surgical knife according to the presentinvention are shown in FIG. 3A in millimeters. It is, however, noted,that the dimensions of the present surgical knife can be varied toaccommodate a surgeon's needs.

FIG. 2 shows surgical knife 25, which can be either a surgical knife ofthe first embodiment or of the second embodiment, being used to harveststrips of skin from donor region 1 of a patient's scalp during a hairtransplantation procedure. Surgical knife 25 cuts strips of skincontaining living hair follicles from donor region 1 by pressing againstthe patient's scalp, and cutting.

FIGS. 5A to 5C show a close-up view of surgical knife 25 being used tocut plural strips of skin from a scalp. More specifically, FIG. 5A showsblades 26 of surgical knife 25 approaching scalp 27 containing hairfollicles 28 grouped in a follicular unit. FIG. 5B shows blades 26cutting through scalp 27. As shown in FIG. 5B, because blades 26 areangled at substantially the same angle that hairs grow out of scalp 27(see angles 23), blades 26 follow the path of least resistance whencutting and push hair follicles 28 aside, rather than cutting throughhair follicles 28. This phenomenon is further shown in FIG. 5C, whichshows blades 26 cutting all the way through to skull 14 withoutsignificantly damaging hair follicles 28. As also shown in FIG. 5C, stop18 prevents surgical knife 25 from cutting into skull 14.

Referring back to FIG. 1, once strips of skin containing living hairfollicles have been harvested from the patient's scalp in step S101, theprocess proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, strips of skin containing living hair follicles are cutinto individual hair grafts. In the present hair transplantation system,micrografts are preferred; however, it is noted that any size graft canbe cut. Examples of different hair grafts which can be cut are standardgrafts, containing more than 12 hair follicles per graft; minigrafts,containing 5 to 9 hair follicles per graft; and micrografts containing 1to 4 hair follicles per graft. Smaller grafts are generally preferred infollicular transplant procedures because they provide a more naturallook than do larger grafts, with the most preferred graft size being thefollicular unit, defined above.

Step S102 is performed differently for narrow strips of skin than forwide strips of skin. More specifically, wide strips of skin must firstbe cut into narrow strips of skin, before being cut into individual hairgrafts. Narrow strips of skin, on the other hand, can be cut directlyinto hair grafts. Different processes for cutting hair grafts fromstrips of skin having different widths are described below.

Furthermore, in step S102, the cutting can be performed either manuallyor using a specially-designed cutting device. Manual cutting will bedescribed first, followed by cutting using the cutting device.

Manual cutting according in the present invention can be done usingstandard surgical techniques. More specifically, in a case where widestrips of skin have been harvested, a surgeon must first cut the widestrips of skin into plural narrow strips of skin having a widthapproximately equal to that of a single hair graft. Thereafter, thesurgeon must cut the plural narrow strips of skin into individual hairgrafts.

In a case where plural narrow strips of skin have been harvested usingthe above-described surgical knife, for example, a surgeon need merelycut individual hair grafts from the plural narrow strips of skin.Preferably, the surgeon cuts the plural narrow strips simultaneously inorder to save time, however, this is not required.

During manual cutting, care must be taken to cut the strips of skin atan angle so as to reduce damage to hair follicles during cutting. Morespecifically, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, hair grows at an angle (angle23) from the scalp. Accordingly, when cutting hair grafts manually fromstrips of skin, the cutting should be done at the growth angle, which isgenerally between 0° and 45°, with the most common growth angle beingapproximately 30°.

In the present invention, manual cutting of the strips of skin is doneon a translucent surface so that hairs on the strips of skin can beeasily detected. In addition, in the present invention, light filterscan cover the translucent surface so as further to facilitate detectionof hairs on the strips of skin. Polarized light and external light mayalso be used to accentuate the visibility of hairs on the strips ofskin.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the manual cuttingsurface is cooled and moistened with saline so as to prolong theviability of the strips of skin.

Cutting Device

As an alternative to the often time-consuming and imprecise process ofmanual cutting, the present invention provides a cutting device to cutstrips of skin. The cutting device can be used both to cut wide stripsof skin into narrow strips of skin, and to cut narrow strips of skininto hair grafts, as described in more detail below.

The cutting device includes plural blades arranged to be substantiallyparallel, onto which a strip of skin is placeable. The strip of skin isplaceable on the plural blades such that hairs growing from the strip ofskin are substantially parallel to the plural blades. Also included inthe cutting device is a cutting surface, onto which the plural bladesare clamped. A plate is fixed to the cutting surface and is movable tocontact the plural blades upon application of a force. The plate hassufficient mobility to contact the plural blades with enough force tocause the plural blades to cut the strip of skin into the hair grafts. Arake, having plural prongs, fits between the plural blades.

A representative embodiment of the cutting device of the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 6A through 6G. FIG. 6A shows cutting device29 in an "open" position. As shown, cutting device 29 includes pluralblades 30, plate 31, cutting surface 32, rotatable members 33, guide 34,handle 11 and a rake, such as rake 35, shown in FIG. 6C, and/or rake 58,shown in FIG. 6F. Each of these features is described below in detail.

As noted above, cutting device 29 includes plural blades 30. Blades 30are arranged substantially parallel on cutting surface 32. Blades 30 arealso arranged substantially perpendicular to cutting surface 32, i.e.,at roughly 90° to cutting surface 32.

As shown in FIG. 6A, each of blades 30 has a substantially same height,such that blades 30 define a plane which is substantially parallel tocutting surface 32. It is noted that the number and sizes of blades usedcan vary, depending upon a surgeon's requirements, so long as they varyin unison.

Blades 30 are held in position by guide 34. As shown in FIG. 6A, guide34 is located at one end of blades 30. So as not to interfere withcutting of strips of skin, guide 34 should have a height which is lessthan or equal to the height of blades 30. It is noted that although theembodiment of the cutting device described herein shows only one guide,any number of guides can be employed.

As also shown in FIG. 6A, blades 30 and guide 34 are clamped to cuttingsurface 32 via conventional mechanical clamps 35a and 35b. It is notedthat although screw-type clamps are shown in FIG. 6A, any clampingmechanism can be used to clamp blades 30 and guide 34 to cutting surface32.

Cutting device 29 also includes plate 31, which is fixed to cuttingsurface 32 by connectors, such as rotatable members 33. Plate 31preferably has a smooth planar surface which is substantially parallelto the plane defined by blades 30. Force is applied to plate 31 byhandle 11, also shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

With respect to rotatable members 33, it is noted that while FIG. 6Ashows two rotatable members on each side of plate 31, any number N (N≧1)of rotatable members can be used on each side of plate 31. As shown inFIG. 6A, rotatable members 33 rotate in the direction of arrows 40toward blades 30. Upon application of sufficient force via handle 11, orotherwise, rotatable members 33 move plate 31 into contact with blades30, as shown in FIG. 6B. Upon removal of that force, in preferredembodiments, rotatable members 33 reset plate 31 to its open position,depicted in FIG. 6A.

It is noted that cutting device 29 is not limited to using rotatablemembers to move plate 31 into contact with blades 30. Rather, anyequivalent mechanism can be used. For example, in another embodiment ofthe cutting device, shown in FIG. 6H, plate 31 is positioned aboveblades 30 by a spring mechanism, such as spring mechanism 33a or itssubstantial equivalent, and is pushed into contact with blades 30 usinghandle 11a, which compresses spring mechanism 33a to cause plate 31 tocontact blades 30. It is noted that hinges can also be used in place ofspring mechanism 33a.

Rake 35, shown in FIG. 6C, is a first embodiment of a rake which can beincluded within cutting device 29. Rake 35 is comb-shaped and includesplural prongs 41 for removing cut skin from between blades 30, asdescribed below. To this end, in preferred embodiments, prongs 41 areseparated by slots 42, each having a thickness sufficient to accommodateone of blades 30. Preferably, rake 35 is removable from cutting device29, as shown in FIG. 6C. However, rake 35 can also be permanentlyattached to cutting device 29, so as to reduce the chances of rake 35being misplaced.

In rake 35, each of prongs 41 includes a tip, such as tip 43, shown inFIG. 6C. In preferred embodiments of the invention, each tip ishook-shaped so that it can grab a strip of skin and hold the strip whenbeing pulled.

FIG. 6F shows a second embodiment of a rake which can be included withcutting device 29. Rake 58 includes hooks 62, of which a side view isshown in FIG. 6G, which are used to grab a strip of skin and hold thestrip while being pulled. In preferred embodiments, each of hooks 62 hasa width which is substantially less than the distance between two ofplural blades 30. However, it is noted that hooks 62 can be any width.

In a case where each of hooks 62 has a width which is substantially lessthan the distance between plural blades 30, cutting device 29 mayinclude both rakes 35 and 58, with rake 35 being used primarily toremove hair grafts from between blades 30, and rake 58 being usedprimarily to grab onto a strip of skin when the strip of skin is pulled.In such cases, prongs 63 on rake 58 can be made of wire in order tofacilitate pulling.

Preferably, all components of cutting device 29, including rakes 35 and58, are made from polished stainless steel which is substantially freefrom crevices so as to reduce amounts of contaminants on cutting device29.

Cutting device 29 operates to cut wide strips of skin into narrow stripsof skin as follows. A wide strip of skin 38 is placed on blades 30 asshown in FIG. 7A. Wide strip of skin 38 is placed top down, meaning thatthe skin exterior faces downward, towards cutting surface 32.Preferably, wide strip of skin 38 is placed on blades 30 so that hairsgrowing therefrom extend downward between blades 30 and aresubstantially parallel to blades 30. As noted, such a placement reducesinjuries to hair follicles and facilitates cutting of the strip of skin.

Once wide strip of skin 38 has been placed on blades 30, as describedabove, rake 35, shown in FIG. 7A, is moved into contact with wide stripof skin 38. Thereafter, rake 35 is pulled in the direction of arrow 39,i.e., along a direction of blades 30 and downward through blades 30, soas to pull wide strip of skin 38 through blades 30. This process isdepicted in FIG. 7B, which shows wide strip of skin 38 being cut intoplural narrow strips of skin by blades 30. It is noted that rake 35 canalso be positioned to grab wide strip of skin 38 from its underside. Inany event, the foregoing pulling cuts wide strip of skin 38 into pluralnarrow strips of skin, each having a width substantially equal to thatof a single hair graft. These narrow strips of skin can then be cut intohair grafts.

Rake 58, shown in FIG. 6F, can be used in a similar manner to pull awide strip of skin through blades 30. Since the foregoing process isidentical for rake 35 and rake 58, a detailed description of rake 58pulling a wide strip of skin through blades 30 is omitted for the sakeof brevity.

The cutting process described above is shown step-by-step in FIGS. 8A to8C. More specifically, FIG. 8A shows wide strip of skin 38 placed, topdown, onto blades 30 such that hairs 44 growing therefrom aresubstantially parallel to blades 30.

FIG. 8B shows blades 30 beginning to contact the hair follicles of hairs44. As shown, due to the resistance of the hair follicles for hairs 44,blades 30, rather than cutting through the hair follicles, push thosehair follicles aside during cutting.

FIG. 8C shows blades 30 having cut past the hair follicles withoutdamaging the hair follicles significantly. By using cutting device 29 inthis manner, wide strip of skin 38 can be cut into plural narrow stripsof skin without damaging the hair follicles significantly.

Cutting device 29 operates to cut narrow strips of skin into hair graftsas shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C. More specifically, a narrow strip of skin,such as strip 45 shown in FIG. 6A, is placed sideways on blades 30 in adirection such that hairs growing from strip 45 are substantiallyparallel to the cutting edges of blades 30. This is shown in detail inFIG. 9A, which depicts strip of skin 45 having hair follicles 7 placedsideways on plural blades 30. It is noted that hair follicles 7 aredrawn as circles to indicate that hairs growing from these hairfollicles face out of the page.

Once strip 45 is placed on blades 30, downward lateral force in thedirection of arrow 46 of FIG. 6A is applied to plate 31. This forcecauses rotatable members 33 to rotate in the direction of arrows 40 andto move plate 31 into contact with blades 30, thus sandwiching strip 45between plate 31 and blades 30. Upon application of sufficient force,plate 31 forces strip 45 down onto blades 30, thereby cutting strip 45into individual hair grafts 47 with protruding hair follicles 7. Thus,FIG. 9B shows blades 30 beginning to cut through strip of skin 45, andFIG. 9C shows blades 30 cut all the way through strip of skin 45 toproduce hair grafts 47. As shown, because hair follicles 7 providegreater resistance than the surrounding skin, blades 30 push hairfollicles 7 aside, rather than cutting through them.

FIGS. 6D and 6E show a rake, in this case rake 35, being used to removehair grafts 47, cut via the foregoing process, from in between blades30. In this regard, FIG. 6D shows rake 35 scooping cut hair grafts fromabove blades 30, whereas FIG. 6E shows rake 35 in position to lift cuthair grafts from below blades 30. Either method can be used.

During its use, cutting device 29 is cooled and moistened with saline soas to prolong the viability of strips of skin and hair grafts cuttherefrom.

It is noted that while cutting device 29 has been described with respectto cutting single strips of skin, cutting device 29 is preferably usedto cut plural strips of skin, both wide and narrow, simultaneously,thereby speeding up the entire hair transplantation procedure.

Referring back to FIG. 1, following step S102, the process proceeds tostep S103. In step S103 hair grafts 47, shown in FIG. 6D, aresequentially loaded, bottom down, i.e., subcutaneous layer down, into aremovable cartridge which connects to an instrument for implanting thehair grafts into recipient region 48 (see FIG. 2) of a patient's scalp.Hair grafts 47 are loaded so as to create an air seal between hairgrafts 47 and the cartridge. The cartridge into which hair grafts 47 areloaded and stored is described in detail below.

Cartridge Which Stores Hair Grafts

FIG. 11 shows an overall view of cartridge 50 of the present invention.FIG. 10A shows a cross-sectional side-view of cartridge 50 and of neck53, which attaches to cartridge 50, taken along line A--A of FIG. 10B.Cartridge 50 stores plural hair grafts 47 which have been cut by cuttingdevice 29, or otherwise. Each of hair grafts 47 contains N (N≧1) hairsgrowing therefrom, and is fed to cartridge 50 through neck 53.

Cartridge 50 includes tubular body 51 having continuous throughbore 52.Continuous throughbore 52 has a cross-sectional area sufficient toaccommodate a single hair graft. Attached to cartridge 50 is neck 53,which is connected to tubular body 51, through which each of hair grafts47 is sequentially loaded, bottom down, into tubular body 51. Slot 36runs along neck 53 to permit contact with a hair graft by an externalinstrument. The external instrument slides the hair graft along the slotto load the hair graft into the cartridge. Neck 53, preferably, has afunnel shape, such that top portion 55 of neck 53 has a greater radius(i.e., length 2d) than tubular body 51 (i.e., length d/2).

According to the present invention, each individual hair graft, such ashair graft 54 shown in FIG. 10A, is fed through neck 53 into tubularbody 51 via needle 37 or the like. In this manner, a hair graft, such ashair graft 54 shown in FIG. 10A, is fed into cartridge 50. Needle 37,inserted into neck 53 via slot 36, grabs onto hair graft 54 and dragshair graft 54 into contact with a next hair graft in cartridge 50. Aseach hair graft is dragged down, the hair graft forces the next hairgraft, and any succeeding hair grafts, down cartridge 50. In thismanner, hair grafts are loaded into cartridge 50.

In this regard, in cartridge 50, the cross-sectional area of continuousthroughbore 52 should be sized so as to fit hair graft 54, yet smallenough to create an air seal between each hair graft, such as hair graft54, and tubular body 51. As described below, this air seal is used tofeed each hair graft to an implant-ready position as each preceding hairgraft is implanted from cartridge 50 into a patient's scalp.

In addition, cartridge 50 can include pressurizing mechanism 61, shownin FIG. 11, which supplies pressure to cartridge 50 in order to assistmovement of hair grafts down tubular body 51. Pressurizing mechanism 61can be an air pump, or the like, which fits inside of or over tubularbody 51, and which creates an air seal between itself and tubular body51 in order to supply air pressure down cartridge 50. By supplyingpressure from the top of cartridge 50, pressurizing mechanism 61decreases the chances that a hair graft will get stuck in tubular body51 and that a hair graft will not feed from the cartridge.

To facilitate movement of the hair grafts down continuous throughbore52, surfaces of tubular body 51 which make up continuous throughbore 52,and surfaces inside of neck 53, should be substantially smooth andpreferably made of a material such as glass, plastic or stainless steel,which is slippery relative to the fatty composition of the hair graft.Lubricants other than saline solution are generally not required duringloading of the hair grafts into cartridge 50, since fat from around hairfollicles on the hair grafts acts as a natural lubricant.

Cartridge 50 also includes connecting end 64, located at an opposite endof tubular body 51 than neck 53, which connects cartridge 50 to aninstrument for implanting a hair graft into a patient's scalp (see FIG.12A). As shown in FIG. 12A, connecting end 64 fits inside of feedingtube 70, from which hair grafts are fed for implantation. By virtue ofthis configuration, cartridge 50 can be easily removed from theinstrument and replaced with another pre-loaded cartridge. As a result,the cartridge reduces the time it takes to re-supply hair grafts to theinstrument.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, cartridge 50, including neck53, is made from a flexible material, such as surgical tubing, and neck53 is removable. Neck 53's removability is shown by FIG. 11, whichdepicts cartridge 50 without neck 53.

Following loading of cartridge 50, it is moistened and cooled in amisting unit (not shown), prior to implanting hair grafts stored incartridge 50. This is done in order to maintain viability of the hairgrafts. If maintained properly in cartridge 50, the hair grafts canremain viable longer than 72 hours after harvesting.

Referring back to FIG. 1, once hair grafts 47, which have been cut bythe foregoing processes, are loaded into cartridge 50, processingproceeds to step S104. In step S104, hair grafts from cartridge 50 areimplanted into recipient region 48 of the patient's scalp (see FIG. 2),one at a time.

Implanting of hair grafts can be accomplished using the hairtransplantation device described in Applicant's co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/444,923. Alternatively, implanting can beaccomplished using the instrument for implanting hair grafts mentionedabove. This is done by feeding a hair graft to a predetermined feedposition in the instrument via air suction created by an air sealbetween each loaded hair graft and cartridge 50, making an incision at apoint in recipient region 48 of the patient's scalp at which the hairgraft is to be implanted using a cutting device, such as a microsurgicalblade or a knife, on the instrument, and sliding the hair graft into theincision using an implanting member in the instrument. This process isdescribed in more detail below, preceded by a detailed description ofthe foregoing instrument.

Instrument For Implanting Hair Grafts

The foregoing instrument for implanting hair grafts into a patient'sscalp implants hair grafts fed, bottom down, via air suction from acartridge, such as cartridge 50 described above, which sequentiallystores air-sealed hair grafts. The instrument includes an elongatehousing adapted to be manipulated by a surgeon during implantation ofthe hair grafts, and a cutting device, such as a microsurgical blade ora knife, affixed to an end of the elongate housing for making anincision into the patient's scalp, into which a hair graft is to beimplanted. Also included in the instrument is a feeding tube whichconnects the instrument to the cartridge, which stores the hair grafts,and which feeds a hair graft from the cartridge to a predetermined feedposition. The feeding tube includes a vent positioned at thepredetermined feed position, such that when the hair graft is moved pastthe predetermined feed position, air from the vent breaks an air sealbetween the hair graft and a next-sequential hair graft in thecartridge. An implanting member (1) moves downward through the elongatehousing, (2) contacts the hair graft at the predetermined feed position,and (3) slides the hair graft into the incision made in the patient'sscalp by the cutting device through an opening formed between thecutting device and the elongate housing. A plunger, disposed within theelongate housing, actuates the implanting member.

In preferred embodiments, as described in more detail below, theinstrument includes a holding member which (1) moves downward throughthe elongate housing in a substantially same direction as the implantingmember, (2) contacts the hair graft contacted by the implanting member,and (3) remains in contact with the hair graft during withdrawal of aportion of the instrument from the incision. The holding member is alsoactuated by the plunger. It is noted that the instrument describedherein for implanting hair grafts need not include such a holdingmember. However, for the sake of brevity, an embodiment of the inventionwhich includes the holding member will be described.

An overall view of a representative embodiment of instrument 65, whichis an instrument for implanting hair grafts according to the presentinvention, is shown in FIG. 11. A cross-sectional side view and frontviews of circular-region 66 of instrument 65 are shown in FIGS. 12A to12C.

Referring to FIG. 11, that figure shows elongate housing 67 and plunger68, which actuates both the implanting and holding members describedabove when instrument 65 is inserted into scalp 69 of a patient.

FIG. 11 also shows cartridge 50 installed in instrument 65.Specifically, as shown, cartridge 50 is installed onto feeding tube 70of instrument 65. As described in more detail below, this configurationpermits feeding of hair grafts from cartridge 50 to instrument 65 viaair suction.

In preferred embodiments, feeding tube 70 includes a mechanical stop atthe feed position, such as stop 88, shown in FIG. 12A, so as to reducethe chances that pressure applied from the top of cartridge 50 willcause hair grafts from feeding tube 70 to feed prematurely. Examples ofsuch a mechanical stop include a nub or a mechanical resistor. This samefunction can be achieved by gradually narrowing feeding tube 70 asfeeding tube 70 approaches the predetermined feed position. An exampleof this configuration is shown in FIG. 13.

Holder 71, shown in FIG. 11, holds cartridge 50 to instrument 65.Holder. 71 can either be an attachment to elongate housing 67 or anintegrally-formed part thereof.

A cutting device, such as microsurgical blade 72, also shown in FIG. 11,penetrates scalp 69 of the patient to reach patient's skull 73 in orderto create an incision into which a hair graft is implanted.

As noted, the foregoing is shown close-up in FIGS. 12A and 12B, whichshow microsurgical blade 72 penetrating roughly 5 millimeters into scalp69 to reach skull 73. Such penetration can, of course, be varied,depending upon the thickness of a patient's scalp, and other pertinentfactors. This penetration creates incision 75.

Microsurgical blade 72, as seen from the front view depicted in FIG.12B, typically has a V shape, and has a smooth, substantially planarsurface 77, as seen from the side view depicted in FIG. 12A.

FIG. 12A shows cartridge 50 connected to feeding tube 70 via connectingend 64. As noted above, cartridge 50 contains air-sealed hair graftssuch as hair grafts 54, 59 and 60 (shown in FIG. 10A), which feed downto instrument 65 by air suction and, in some embodiments, air pressure,from cartridge 50, through feeding tube 70, to predetermined feedposition 80.

In preferred embodiments of the instrument, feeding tube 70 is angledwith respect to the feeding direction. This is shown in the front viewof feeding tube 70 depicted in FIG. 12C. Such a configurationfacilitates feeding of hair grafts to predetermined feed position 80 andfurther reduces injury to those hair grafts during feeding.

As also shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, instrument 65 includes opening 81between planar surface 77 of microsurgical blade 72 and elongate housing67. Hair grafts are implanted from feed position 80, through opening 81,via implanting member 82, also shown in FIG. 12A.

Instrument 65 also includes vent 84. Vent 84 is positioned atpredetermined feed position 80. Vent 84 is dimensioned so as to breakthe air seal between hair graft 83, shown at feed position 80, and anext-sequentially-stored hair graft in cartridge 50 at a point where thenext-sequentially-stored hair graft from cartridge 50 reaches feedposition 80.

More specifically, as noted above, hair grafts are fed from cartridge 50via air suction by withdrawing a hair graft from the feeding tube forimplantation. As described in more detail below, implanting member 82,shown in FIG. 12A, contacts hair graft 83 at predetermined feed position80, and slides hair graft 83 through opening 81 into incision 75. Ashair graft 83 is implanted, succeeding hair grafts in cartridge 50 aredrawn down toward feed position 80 by air suction. As noted, in order toensure that a next-sequentially-stored hair graft is not fed too far,instrument 65 includes vent 84 (and stop 88), so that the air sealbetween hair graft 83 and the next-sequentially-stored hair graft incartridge 50 is broken at the point where the next-sequentially-storedhair graft reaches predetermined feed position 80.

Implanting member 82, as noted above, moves downward through elongatehousing 67 to contact hair graft 83 at feed position 80. Once in contactwith hair graft 83, implanting member 82 slides hair graft 83 down alongplanar surface 77 of microsurgical blade 72 into incision 75 in scalp69. Preferably, implanting member 82 has a length which is sufficient topenetrate an entire depth of scalp 69, in order to ensure properimplantation of the hair grafts. It is, however, noted that implantingmember 82 need not penetrate the entire scalp in order to implement thepresent invention.

As noted above, the instrument described herein need not include aholding member. With respect to embodiments of the instrument that donot include the holding member, suffice it to say that implanting member82, shown in FIG. 12A, can be sized to take up the space in elongatehousing 67 occupied by holding member 86, and that portions of elongatehousing 67 can be used to perform the function of the holding member. Insuch a case, implanting can still be performed as described above.Preferred embodiments of the invention, however, include holding member86, the structure and function of which are described in detail asfollows.

Holding member 86, which moves downward through elongate housing 67 insubstantially the same direction as implanting member 82, contacts hairgraft 83 at a later point than implanting member 82. This is because, asshown in FIG. 12A, holding member 86 is positioned further upstream inelongate housing 67 than implanting member 82. This effect can beachieved by making holding member 86 shorter than implanting member 82.Holding member 86 contacts hair graft 83 to hold hair graft 83 in placeonce hair graft 83 has been implanted into incision 75. In this regard,since holding member 86 is merely used to hold an implanted hair graftin place in the incision in the scalp, holding member should notsubstantially penetrate the hair graft.

In preferred embodiments of the instrument, holding member 86 has a tip,such as tip 87 shown in FIG. 12A, made of an expandable material, suchas sponge or its substantial equivalent. Tip 87 should have a size andshape which permits compression inside of elongate housing 67, andexpansion outside of elongate housing 67, i.e., when holding a hairgraft in place. Tip 87 provides a cushion which reduces injuries to animplanted hair graft which can be caused by holding member 86. Whenexpanded, tip 87 should have a shape which is sufficient to surroundimplanting member 82 during withdrawal of implanting member 82 fromincision 75, so as to provide even further protection for the implantedhair graft.

In preferred embodiments of the instrument, implanting member 82 andholding member 86 move independently of each other. This is ofparticular relevance during withdrawal of implanting member 82 fromincision 75. That is, in preferred embodiments, implanting member 82 iswithdrawn from incision 75 while holding member 86 remains in contactwith an implanted hair graft. Withdrawal of implanting member 82 can betriggered, for example, by a spring-loaded latch mounted inside ofelongate housing 67 which causes implanting member 82 to withdraw onceimplanting member 82 has been extended a predetermined distance. As aresult of this feature, withdrawal of implanting member 82 can beperformed without causing the implanted hair graft to be dislodged.

In the present instrument, elongate housing 67 can also be formed tomove upward as plunger 68 is depressed. This feature can be used in acase where implanting member 82 is not the first device withdrawn fromincision 75, or in a case where implanting member 82 and holding member86 are not independently movable. In addition, this feature can becombined with the latch described above to reduce dislodging ofimplanted hair grafts even further. More specifically, in such a case,holding member 86 remains in contact with an implanted hair graft whileimplanting member 82 is withdrawn from incision 75, and while at least aportion of microsurgical blade 72 is also withdrawn from incision 75.

As noted above, in preferred embodiments of the instrument, plunger 68,which is shown in FIG. 11, is used to actuate both implanting member 82and holding member 86. Thus, upon application of a predetermined forceto plunger 68, movement downward of both implanting member 82 andholding member 86 is commenced inside of elongate housing 67.

FIG. 2 shows instrument 65 being used to implant hair grafts intorecipient region 48 of a patient's scalp during a hair transplantationprocedure.

FIGS. 14A to 14C show instrument 65 at various stages during implantinghair graft 83; and FIG. 15 shows process steps for implanting hair graft83 using instrument 65. For illustration's sake, instrument 65 comprisesthe embodiment of the instrument in which an implanting member iswithdrawn from an incision while a holding member remains in contactwith a hair graft which has been implanted in the incision.

In step S1501, a surgeon makes incision 75 in scalp 69 usingmicrosurgical blade 72 of instrument 65, as shown in FIG. 14A. Next, instep S1502, the surgeon depresses plunger 68 (see FIG. 11) to beginimplanting hair graft 83 in incision 75. This causes implanting member82 and holding member 86 to slide downwardly inside of elongate housing67 toward incision 75. In step S1503, implanting member 82 contacts hairgraft 83 at feed position 80, as shown in FIG. 14A. Thereafter,implanting member 82 slides hair graft 83 over stop 88 and down planarsurface 77 of microsurgical blade 72 towards incision 75. It should benoted that during this time next-sequentially-stored hair graft 90 isfed to feed position 80 by air suction.

During sliding of hair graft 83 out of feeding tube 70, hair graft 83contacts open air via vent 84. This contact breaks the air seal betweenhair graft 83 and next-sequentially-stored hair graft 90. As notedabove, breaking of the air seal is preferably done at a point wherenext-sequentially-stored hair graft 90 reaches feed position 80. As aresult of this, and of stop 88, next-sequentially-stored hair graft 90stops feeding down feeding tube 70.

Next, in step S1504, hair graft 83 is implanted in incision 75 byimplanting member 82, and is contacted by holding member 86, as shown inFIG. 14B. It should be noted that although the present embodimentdescribes holding member 86 contacting hair graft 83 when hair graft 83is implanted in incision 75, holding member 86 can come into contactwith hair graft 83 at any point in the process. In addition, as shown inFIG. 14B, holding member 86 does not substantially penetrate hair graft83. Instead, holding member 83 merely holds hair graft 83 in place inincision 75.

FIG. 14C depicts step S1505. Specifically, FIG. 14C depicts withdrawalof implanting member 82 from incision 75, while holding member 86remains in contact with implanted hair graft 83. As indicated above,withdrawal of implanting member 82 can be triggered by a spring-loadedlatch or its substantial equivalent. Following withdrawal of implantingmember 82, in step S1506, instrument 65 is withdrawn from incision 75,leaving a transplanted hair graft to grow in incision 75. Thereafter,the process of FIGS. 14A to 14C is repeated throughout a recipientregion of the patient's scalp.

It is noted that the process of FIG. 15 can be performed by using pluralinstruments, such as instrument 65, simultaneously on a single patient.

The present invention has been described with respect to particularillustrative embodiments. It is to be understood that the invention isnot limited to the above-described embodiments and modificationsthereto, and that various changes and modifications may be made by thoseof ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An instrument for implanting hair grafts into apatient's scalp, said instrument comprising:a housing having animplanting end and adapted to be manipulated by a surgeon duringimplantation of hair grafts, said housing having a bore extending atleast part way thereinto from the implanting end; a cutting device atthe implanting end of said housing for making an incision into thepatient's scalp, into which a hair graft is to be implanted; a feedingstation adjacent the bore and spaced away from the implanting end ofsaid housing, the feeding station including a receiving assembly toreceive a cartridge which stores plural hair grafts; and an implantingmember slidably movable in the bore between at least said feedingstation and the implanting end, said implanting member being constructed(1) to receive a hair graft at the feeding station, and (2) to slide thehair graft down said cutting device into the incision made in thepatient's scalp by said cutting device, said implanting member includinga forwardly extending finger that laterally cushions said hair graftduring implantation.
 2. An instrument according to claim 1, furthercomprising a holding member adjacent said implanting member, saidholding member defining a shoulder against which the hair graft restsduring implantation.
 3. An instrument according to claim 2, wherein saidfinger extends forwardly past the shoulder toward the implanting end. 4.An instrument according to claim 2, wherein said holding member isslidably movable independently of said implanting member.
 5. Aninstrument according to claim 4, wherein during implantation saidimplanting member is slidably withdrawn from the incision while saidholding member remains in contact with the hair graft.
 6. An instrumentaccording to claim 5, further comprising a latch connected to saidimplanting member which triggers withdrawal of said implanting memberfrom the incision while said holding member remains in contact with thehair graft in the incision.
 7. An instrument according to claim 5,wherein said holding member includes an expandable tip at an area whichcontacts the hair graft.
 8. An instrument according to claim 2, whereinthe holding member and the implanting member are not independentlymovable.
 9. An instrument according to claim 8, wherein said holdingmember and said implanting member extend beyond said cutting device intothe incision during withdrawal of the cutting device from the incision.10. An instrument according to claim 9, wherein said cutting deviceincludes a hollow portion through which said implanting member and saidholding member are slidably extendable.
 11. An instrument according toclaim 10, wherein said cutting device includes a cylindrical tip portionpast which said implanting member and said holding member slide duringimplantation of a hair graft.
 12. An instrument according to claim 8,further comprising a plunger to actuate both said holding member andsaid implanting member for implantation of the hair graft.
 13. Aninstrument according to claim 1, wherein the receiving assembly isangled relative to the bore so as to receive the cartridge at an angleoblique to the bore.
 14. An instrument according to claim 3, furthercomprising a plunger to actuate the implanting member so as to causeimplantation of a hair graft, and wherein actuation of said plungercauses said cartridge to advance a next sequential hair graft forimplantation.
 15. An instrument according to claim 1, wherein lateralcushioning of said hair graft by said finger comprises sandwiching ofsaid hair graft between said finger and said cutting device.